1. Field
This art relates to RFID tag manufacturing methods for manufacturing RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags that transmit/receive information to/from external devices without touching the tags, and relates to RFID tags manufactured by RFID tag manufacturing methods. Among those skilled in the art, the term “RFID tag” used in this specification may be called “a wireless IC tag.”
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, known examples of an RFID tag that transmits/receives information to/from external devices (a representative example would be a reader/writer) by means of radio waves without touching the tag include an RFID tag (refer to, e.g., Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3) of the form in which radio communication antennae and a circuit chip are mounted on a base made of plastic or paper. And manufacturing methods for such RFID tags have been proposed (refer to, e.g., Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Such RFID tags may be used on articles that are easily deformed, such as clothing. However, such uses have significant problems in that a circuit chip is less likely to bend than a base, and the circuit chip and the area around it may be susceptible to bending stress, which would result in, for example, peeling of the circuit chip and disconnection of the antennae and circuit chip. To overcome such problem, technologies have been proposed in which the circuit chip and the area around it are coated with a resin or suchlike material, or the circuit chip, etc. are covered with hard reinforcement or suchlike, thereby protecting the circuit chip, etc. from deformation of RFID tags (see, for example, Patent Documents 4, 5, 6 and 7).
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-194816
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-105804
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-167240
[Patent Document 4]
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-322538
[Patent Document 5]
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-42090
[Patent Document 6]
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-58853
[Patent Document 7]
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H9-315059
However, the protection of the circuit chip, etc., by a method as disclosed in the Patent Documents 4 to 7, for example, additionally includes the process of coating the circuit chip with a resin or mounting a reinforcement after the process of mounting the circuit chip on the base during the manufacture of the RFID tag. This additional process threatens to increase manufacturing costs.